Just this past September, Paris Nord Villepinte hosted the world-renowned Optical Fair, an event for the entire optical industry chain, covering optical equipment, optical manufacturing, eyewear, sunglasses, designers, design studies, academic research, optical trade and more. It is a trade fair platform for opticians and consumers to celebrate together.
SILMO D’OR
Today, we would like to highlight the SILMO D’OR award from SILMO Paris. It is an important award in the world of eyewear, with a multidimensional evaluation, and it is a great honor for every exhibitor to receive this award.
The SILMO Awards organizing committee awards prizes in 11 different categories：
- Children
- Sport
- Vision
- Material/equipment
- Low vision
- Optical frame “labels”
- Sunglasses “labels”
- Technological innovation in eyewear
- Technological innovation in eyewear – Connected products
- Sunglasses “eyewear designer”
- Optical frame “eyewear designer”
SILMO D’OR WINNERS
A total of 50 exhibitors have shortlisted the 2024 SILMO D’OR contenders. These winning entries will also guide the global eyewear industry’s fashion trends for the end of 2024, and 2025, as the following are the introductions of the winning entries:
Children
Brand: Lafont
Work: Roudoudou
Introduction: The first model of Roudoudou was designed for premature babies. This model complements the Lafont baby collection and offers the dispensing optician a concrete and easy-to-use solution. Developed specifically for premature babies, Roudoudou has the right size and geometry. The frame must be worn permanently from the first month. Roudoudou is an injectable frame made of a bio-based material derived from castor oil, an environmentally friendly, biodegradable and naturally non-allergenic material.
Award-winning evaluation: Respect for life, and care for the visual health of infants and children. Protect the environment and use renewable bio-based materials—Pioneer of Baby Bright and Trailblazer.
Sport
Brand: Out Of
Work: Acuity
Introduction: Acuity sunglasses correct common visual impairment problems and provide unprecedented clarity of vision with carbon fiber materials while maintaining a lightweight. Due to a UV-inspired chemical reaction, photochromic lenses adjust their tint to the light, providing optimal filtration at all times. Polarized lenses selectively block horizontal reflections so you can see better in the glare.
Award-winning evaluation: The exclusive polarized technology makes this pair of sunglasses a black technology. For athletes, outdoor activity enthusiasts, whether you are nearsighted or farsighted, it can provide the best visual experience, clear vision, making you more comfortable and safer.
Vision
Brand: Transitions Optical
Work: Transitions® Gen S™
Introduction: Transitions® GEN S™ leads the industry with the first dynamic lens that is ultra-responsive to light. Combining protection, visual performance and aesthetics for all lighting conditions, Transitions ® GEN S ™ has the fastest darkening speed of any color-changing lens. It is completely clear indoors and darkens in seconds outdoors. It is ultra-responsive to light, reaching level 3 darkness in 25 seconds and fading in less than two minutes. Ray-Ban was the first optician to apply this technology.
Award-winning evaluation: Disrupting the traditional color-changing lenses, it is so sensitive to light, as fast as lightning, that wearing it is like having a GPU with an ultra-visual neural network.
Material/equipment
Brand: Eyesoft
Work: Check Lenscape
Introduction: Eyesoft, a French company providing innovative vision screening solutions in virtual reality and eye tracking technologies, the Eyesoft Check Lenscape, an application with these two key features. Unlike traditional vision correction programs, it allows patients to reduce their vision correction headaches. In addition, it can recognize early eye movement disorders.
Award-winning evaluation: Immersive 3D headset for a body-mind relaxing experience and personalized user reports.
Brand: MicroUnit
Work: Lona 5
Introduction: Lona 5 is an eyewear design and manufacturing software. It features a downstream design that simplifies operations so that anyone without design knowledge can use the software. lona 5 also allows users to access and check the manufacturing program on the CNC with a few simple clicks, without any special skills.
Award-winning evaluation: Simplifying complex operations and empowering eyewear manufacturers from design to manufacturing.
Low vision
Brand: Accessolutions
Work: “Voisee” Reber Informatik
Introduction: VoiSee is an innovative visual aid aimed at an audience of visually impaired people, an electronic monocular that allows the user to read both near and far. Simply placed in front of one eye, users have simple controls to magnify images, read text, freeze images, and adjust visual settings such as contrast. Its lightweight yet versatile design is easy to carry and weighs only 300g for one-handed use.
Award-winning evaluation: The best visual aid for the visually impaired, convenient and lightweight, indoors or outdoors, far or near, it ensures that you can see more clearly.
Optical frame “labels”
Brand: De Rigo
Work: SNR403 couleur 7G6
Introduction: Oversized acetate eyeglasses in a retro design style. In this design, the geometric-shaped temples and the distinctive rounded front frame intertwine to create a vision of the past and present as one. The brand’s signature grosgrain pattern is visible on the inside of the temples, while the brand’s monogram adorns the left temple. The gradient colors are inspired by those worn by former U.S. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.
Award-winning evaluation: The rounded surface and curves, segmented two-tone retro design, commemorating the former US First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, gorgeous, elegant, and calm, this pair of glasses is simply her incarnation. Every middle-aged woman deserves it.
Sunglasses “labels”
Brand: Zilli
Work: ZI65109 C01 (Grosfilley France)
Introduction: The ZILLI frame is inlaid with grainy textured leather on the center beam and temples, and the edges of the leather are outlined in golden titanium. The frames are very light, with elastic hinges (memory metal) and are adjustable for different face shapes.
Award-winning evaluation: These are sunglasses with business attributes, made from the noblest acetate and pure titanium and leather—gradient sunset-colored lenses with the latest technology of anti-reflective, anti-scratch and anti-smudge technology. The visual contrast is rich and clear, everything is the best, as if it were a rare treasure.
Technological innovation in eyewear
Brand: OOmade
Work: OOmade SAV 3D
Introduction: OOmade uses its patented 3D printing solution to improve the after-sales service level of optical shops. When someone brings existing glasses to the optical shop for repair, the optician can use a 3D printer to produce a temporary pair of glasses frames. Even if the current pair of glasses is broken, this 3D printer can help customers replicate the same frames completely. This solves the problem of customers not having spare glasses. The printing material is a biopolymer extracted from corn or sugar beets.
Award-winning evaluation: Technology benefits mankind, using 3D printing technology to provide customers with spare glasses, OOmade improves the quality of after-sales service in optical stores and gives consumers a home-like service experience.
Technological innovation in eyewear – Connected products
Brand: EssilorLuxottica
Work: RayBan Meta avec IA
Introduction: Ray-Ban Meta is a new generation of smart glasses born from the collaboration between EssilorLuxottica and Meta. You can talk to these glasses carrying an artificial intelligence system to learn about the weather, transportation, fashionable wear, information queries, etc. It can take pictures, translate in real-time, broadcast live, listen to music, record a long video of a minute, etc. It can do anything you want. Take pictures, make phone calls, translate in real time, stream live video, listen to music, record 3-minute long videos, it can do everything. Using these smart glasses brings a lot of convenience to work and life.
Award-winning evaluation: This is the most advanced smart glasses currently on sale, it is an intelligent tool to promote human progress and efficiency in the AI era, and it will continue to update and iterate, more and more advanced.
Sunglasses “eyewear designer”
Brand: Prodesign
Work: Censur
Introduction: Censurwas born in Prodesign’s Dance Lab. Censur is an ultra-futuristic creative product created by Danish and French designers. Drawing on cultural heritage and artistic philosophies, it breaks away from traditional design thinking to create unique and avant-garde metal sunglasses. A metal bar runs through the front frame and horizontally through the temples, creating an integrated form with a hollow effect above the bar. The new eyewear shape reveals a futuristic industrial aesthetic.
Award-winning evaluation: Censur embodies a bold fusion of innovation, philosophy, design, ergonomics and art that eschews traditional concepts for sunglasses with a futuristic industrial aesthetic.
Optical frame “eyewear designer”
Brand: Pierre Eyewear
Work: Lady
Introduction: This is a square lady’s acetate optical frame. Fashionable and diversified design elements, three-segmented, multi-color, forming a sharp contrast, suitable for ladies who pursue alternative fashion and sense of space.
Award-winning evaluation: Segmented design concept, you can see that the designer is using modular ideas to emphasize the human eyebrows, nose bridge, eye corners, and cheeks, this frame is more dynamic, which is a masterpiece of the current trend of fashionable eyewear.
To summarize, through the above award-winning products and technologies, we can peep into the latest developments and trends of the whole optical industry, so that you can have a sharper perception of the optical business market.
